The difficulty of electrolyte VC additives

Introduction:Vinylene carbonate (VC) is a common SEI film forming additive. VC polymerizes on the surface of the negative electrode in a lithium ion battery to form a dense SEI film, thereby preventing further reduction and decomposition of the battery electrolyte on the surface of the anode electrode.

Since the beginning of this year, the supply of electrolyte additive VC has continued to be tight, and the VC additive gap has continued to grow. Some electrolyte additive manufacturers have placed VC orders in the first half of 2022.

At present, the quotation of VC bulk orders has soared to 270,000/ton, an increase of 68%-80% from the average market price of 150,000 to 160,000 last year. And VC manufacturers have the same words, "The core issue now is not price, but production capacity."

VC additives are mainly used to improve the capacity and cycle life of batteries. As the proportion of VC added to lithium iron phosphate batteries is much higher than that of NCM batteries, as the production and sales of lithium iron phosphate continue to pick up, the supply of VC continues to increase.

The preparation method of VC additive is relatively open, but the purity of the product is required to be high, because traces of impurities may affect the performance of the lithium battery.

At the same time, the production of VC additives has a certain degree of danger, and has high requirements for safe production and environmental protection. The relevant management departments have strict requirements for the construction, commissioning, and operation of projects involving hazardous chemicals.

It is worth mentioning that previously, due to less market demand for VCs, fierce price war competition, and strict control of production under environmental supervision, a number of VC manufacturers cut production and stopped production last year. It is more difficult to resume production in the later stage, which greatly reduces the overall supply of VC.

In order to ensure the supply of production capacity, Hankang Chemical (Xinzhoubang Holding Subsidiary), Zhejiang Tianshuo (Tianci Materials Holding Subsidiary), Suzhou Huayi (October Co., Ltd.), Huasheng Lithium Battery, Yongtai Technology, etc. are all in Accelerate the expansion of the deployment of additives. However, limited by VC's technology, patent barriers, and process requirements, it is difficult to expand production. It is expected that the VC gap may continue until the second half of next year.